Lasagna is an almost infinitely variable dish, and though you might think of lasagna with ricotta and tomato, or lasagna with white sauce and a ground meat sauce as the standard (the former is more southern, and the latter central-northern), there are many other possibilities, ranging from with pesto sauce through with walnuts and cheese. To serve 6:
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- A mozzarella about 2 1/2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, diced and drained
- 1/4 pound (100 g) Swiss cheese, diced
- 1/2 pound (200g ) Asiago cheese, diced
- 2/3 pound (300 g) fresh lasagna
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/5 cups béchamel sauce
- 1/4 pound (100 g) walnut meats, half crumbled, and the other half finely ground
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
Preparation:
Blanch the lasagna, a few sheets at a time, in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes; remove them with a strainer and let them drain on a clean cloth. Preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C).Butter an oven proof serving dish and put down a first layer of lasagna. Spread a layer of béchamel sauce over it, dust it with some of the powdered walnuts, and then sprinkle some of the cheese and some of the chopped walnuts over it. Continue with another layer of pasta, followed by more cheese and more nut, and so on until all is used up; the top layer should be cheese, walnuts, and béchamel sauce, and you should dot it with the butter and sprinkle the grated Parmigiano over it. Bake the lasagna for about 20 minutes, and serve.
This is quite rich -- perfect winter fare -- and will work nicely as a first course, to be followed by lean grilled meats and a tossed salad. In terms of a wine, I'd go with a crisp Chardonny from the Collio region, in Friuli Venezia Giulia. And the next time I made it, I might vary the cheeses.
